chris_werner

That's spectacular!!! :jaw drop:

Doug,

 

Very nice!  I love the lighting, and I really think the lens distortion adds to the composition.  The only thing I could offer up as a suggestion is that the slight asymmetry in the way the close end clips the reddish part of the floor on the right versus the left is a little distracting to my type A-ness.  But it's a beautiful photograph.  Thanks for sharing.

Very nicely done Michael - nice rounds stars on a silky black background and only the slightest hint of field curvature in the corners.  Good optics and great execution!

This just makes me smile for some reason. I think it's the way he's staring you down.

 

I'm curious - have you tried it with more DOF? I just wonder how it would compare, but I think this is the better approach. Well done!

 

Chris.

The red hourglass on a black widow found in the US is on the underside of the abdomen (giving you the choice of staying away from black spiders or picking them up to determine what they are!). They also are fond of dark, damp places (like woodpiles) and typically wouldn't be seen in a rocky crag as in your photo. So, unless there are multiple varieties, I'd say it's not a black widow.

Nelson,

 

I won't swear that I'm right, but I think the pattern is the result of your stopping down to f22 and reflects the shape of the blades inside the lens. The pattern is somewhat reminscent of a distortion you'll see in photographs through reflecting telescopes of point light sources (which the moon here has in essence become through overexposure) and in those cases reflects the "spider" in the telescope that holds the secondary mirror. Assuming I'm correct, you will need to have the lens wide open and/or lessen the overexposure of the moon somehow.

 

Chris

I like it. I will admit that the larger I displayed it the better it got - maybe it's one of those shots whose impact depends in part on the size of the viewed image. There's a lot to look at here.

 

The only thing I'd note is the slight protrusion of the deck/dock on the right side. Easy to crop out, though.

You might experiment with lying on the ground and filling more (or all) of the frame with the mushrooms and stump. I find shots like this work better for me if I take a major departure from the angle from which one would normally view the scene. By the way, I like your portfolio.

I gotta tell you - I stared at this picture on and off for an hour last night. There's so much to look at and take in. I think it's wonderful. Well done!

Jed,

 

A lot of the above need to get a life. Great picture! Very evocative and enjoyable to look at.